DETROIT–Philadelphia 76ers forwards Tobias Harris and Marcus Morris Sr. have been lifelong friends on their journeys to the NBA. They are both from a similar area, Morris Sr. from Philadelphia and Harris from New York, and they have been battling each other for years.
The city of Detroit brought them together at the NBA level. The Pistons acquired Harris in a trade in the 2015-16 season and he helped spark Detroit to a playoff appearance. He and Morris Sr. played well off each other showing off their versatility, offensive ability, and size.
With the Sixers in Detroit on Wednesday, resulting in a 129-111 win for Philadelphia, Harris and Morris Sr. reminisced on their time in the Motor City and their friendship.
“It was great,” Harris said of his time with Morris Sr. in Detroit. “I’ve been knowing him for the longest. We played one AAU tournament together in high school so he’s right down the road in Philly so when we were here, it was a good time. It was a time where we both were figuring out our careers and where we were at and whatnot, but we enjoyed our time here.”
While both Harris and Morris Sr. have known each other for a long time, the fact that they were able to play together in the NBA was special for them. Detroit offered that opportunity.
“It brought us together, man,” Morris Sr. said. “We learned a lot from each other. Like personally. Like not even basketball (expletive). Just like life stuff, you know what I mean? He’s a good friend of mine. Anybody that asks, I would say he’s a really good dude. We learned a lot from each other, I can’t say everything, but it’s been cool, man. It’s been cool to know him and see him grow and being a younger player come in and grow into a veteran and do what he’s doing now.”
The two veteran forwards were able to play off each other and be important pieces on a playoff team for the Pistons. Harris averaged 16.6 points and 6.2 rebounds with Detroit following the trade and Morris Sr. averaged 14.1 points and 5.1 rebounds that season.
“We always talk about playing together, the team that we had, and use two forwards playing the 3-4 together so we had some really good chemistry on the floor as well and just worked off each other,” Harris added. “We had a good team that year, too.”
With the two of them now teammates again in Philadelphia, they acknowledge that the city of Detroit played an important role in their careers.
“I think as both of our careers have progressed year after year, he continues to get better and just finding ways to be as efficient as he can on the basketball court,” Harris said of Morris Sr. “Outside of just basketball, he’s a brother for life since our time playing in Detroit and that’s my guy.”
What has made their careers and friendship even more intertwined was that both of them came into the NBA at the same time in 2011.
“We came in the league at the same time, too,” Morris Sr. reminisced. “We go way back. We played in a tournament together. Tobias was about, I think he might’ve been 12 or maybe 13 or 14. Good player. I’ve been knowing him for a while. He grew up in the same area. I’ve been to his house. Our families know each other really well so any time we talk basketball, anything we see, just talk to each other, you know what I’m saying? We got a good relationship. You build these types of relationships in the league.”
Now, they will look to help the Sixers win a championship.
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